Costumes made/modeled by Yaya between 1999 - now.

Athena (Saori) - Saint Seiya

Why I chose to make this costume

I have been wanting to cosplay from Saint Seiya since I understood the term COSPLAY. T_T It was the first anime series I watched on TV, back in China when I was about 8 years old. And it is also the first manga I ever read, and I own the entire series. Saori is by no means my favorite character in the series, but I was told in the past that I would pull her off, and it was the easiest costume I could think of for the short time frame I had.

How I made this costume

I used a semi-shiney crinkled/pleated white fabric in order to achieve the classic Greek pleated dress look for Athena. For practical reasons, I decided to make the dress into a full skirt and top. The top closes with loops and ribbons in the back becauseI thought it would look more natural than a zipper.

The skirt has a second layer of bridal satin, and I wear it with a hoopskirt underneath. The waist cincher was so fun to make - I created my own cincher pattern following the character design, used a super reflective gold stretch pvc/lycra for the outer layer, lined the whole thing and sewed boning into it. Then I drew a pattern for the top trim as well as a different pattern for the bottom trim. Using gold Lame for a separate texture, I traced and cut out the patterns, then appliquéd them onto the cincher, satin stitching and finishing all the outlines. I then hand-sewed gold and red beads to the trim and glued on large crystals following the design.

I made the necklace with blue and clear glass beads, and created the armband, choker, and hair piece with remnant Wonderflex pieces and hotglue. I plan on remaking those pieces in the future in plastic. I cut bangs into the wig and styled it accordingly. For the gold angel wings, I created a new design and shape, made the wings, and sized them to be folded up and fit into a specific travel friendly box. I wish I could have made the pair bigger, but I haven't found a larger box for wing transport so far! Maybe in the future?

I finished the staff in time for Anime Expo 2007 - the gold bird shaped round staff end was first sculpted entirely out of clay, then I made a mold for it and casted it out of plastic. I then painted it and attached it to the black staff itself which is a butchered curtain rod lol.

Thoughts on this costume

I really loved cosplaying from Saint Seiya! The story was such a part of childhood growing up, and it makes me happy to be able to feel like I'm a part of it in a tiny geeky way. I must admit though, that it was pretty difficult to maneuver in the hoopskirt, wings, and staff all that the same time.

Thank you to the photograghers who took photos of this costume. I really appreciate your efforts and enjoy the pictures immensely!

About Yaya

Yaya Han® is one of only few cosplayers in the world to build a business in this hobby-ist community, but even after a decade of success, she strives to stay true to what got her into this field originally - fun and creativity. To this day, Yaya has made a myriad of costumes in the genres of anime, manga, video games, sci-fi, comic books and of course from her own original designs. Her intricate and lavish creations have won awards and acclaim worldwide, and she has been invited to appear as a Guest, Panelist, Judge, Performer and Host to hundreds conventions and other events all over the globe.